Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Receiver picked wrong time to get on the Horn

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 | 10:28 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

Sometimes referees aren't the only ones who make bad calls.

When Saints receiver Joe Horn decided to get on the horn to his mother after scoring his second touchdown in Sunday night's ESPN telecast against the New York Giants, it clearly was the wrong call.

In case your line's been busy all week, here's what happened: Horn caught a touchdown pass from Aaron Brooks in the second quarter of New Orleans' victory, and to celebrate, pulled a cell phone from the padding covering the goal post at the back of the end zone. Then, he called his mom.

With all the security measures in place at sports venues these days, I'm sure the NFL was less than pleased to know a player could stash electronic devices on the field.

Horn said his plan was to call his mother only if he scored twice in the game, but I believe he just wanted to wait until after peak hours to save a few bucks. That backfired, however -- the league slapped Horn with a $30,000 fine.

If Horn just wanted his 15 minutes of fame, he got them -- but unfortunately, they aren't rollover minutes. Wouldn't it have been easier to just have John Stamos or Carrot Top hanging around on the sidelines or something?

And was Horn really the first the do this? Rumors are flying that an Arizona Cardinals receiver tried this earlier in the season, but nobody noticed. And nobody answered the line.

I'm also mildly curious to know just when Horn came up with this scheme. He had not scored a home touchdown since Oct. 26, so it's conceivable that phone was planted two months ago. Think of all the voice mail.

But the worst part of Horn's antics wasn't that a national audience was watching, or even that the NFL was watching. The worst past was that Terrell Owens probably was watching, or at least saw the highlights.

The flamboyant San Francisco wide receiver certainly will not be outdone. After all, Owens' use of a Sharpie to sign a football in the end zone after scoring a touchdown last year led the NFL to put a rule in place putlawing such celebrations.

The 49ers are on the road this week, too, which gives Owens time to prepare a rebuttal.

Intercom system attached to the back pylon, maybe? Skywriting team waiting outside the stadium? Who knows. But Owens surely will think of something to blow away Horn.

My guess is that in next week's season finale, he has a computer workstation set up in the end zone, so after scoring, he can e-mail a quick message to fans at www.terrellscoresagain.com/egotrip.

Personally, I think the fine was a little steep, and sends a bad message. After all, aren't we supposed to call our parents around the holidays?

Picks: The Rams and Seahawks stopped scoring in time to prevent a positive week, again. The season mark lags along at 20-25. This week's nightmares are the Chiefs -2 1/2 against the Vikes, the Saints +1 against the Jaguars and the Seahawks -13 against the Cardinals.